Hero for a day

This guest story was written by Express-News intern Jose T. Garza III:

By Jose T. Garza III

jtgarza@express-news.net

Spending a weekend with a NASCAR pit crew thrilled Army Staff Sgt. Javier Villanueva like few experiences have.

“It’s as close as jumping out of an airplane for me,” Villanueva said.

The John Jay graduate served as honorary crew chief for Kevin Conway. Conway finished 31st at the KOBALT Tools 500 in Atlanta but won over Villanueva as a fan.

“He (Conway) is a down-to-earth guy,” said Villanueva, 41. “He invited me to his motor home, and I sat and talked with him and his girlfriend.”

Courtesy photo

Army Staff Sgt. Javier Villanueva talks to NASCAR driver Kevin Conway prior to the start of the KOBALT Tools 500 in Atlanta on Sunday. Villanueva, a John Jay graduate, served as honoray crew chief for Conway’s race team.

The feeling was mutual with Conway, who was proud to listen to the stories that he had to tell about serving his country.

“Javier is awesome,” Conway said. “He puts his country ahead of himself, and I know that people sometimes call us racers heroes but he’s a true hero.”

Villanueva, who is stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., was named an ExtenZe Local Hero because of injuries suffered in Iraq in 2004.

He was in a skirmish that left his leg paralyzed from the knee down. He spent the next two years in grueling rehabilitation and now works in a desk job at the Army base, which is near Columbus, Ga., and a two-hour drive south of Atlanta.

Conway, who drives for ExtenZe Racing, served as host at Atlanta Motor Speedway for Villanueva and his family.

“He took me around and showed me the behind-the-scenes stuff,” Villanueva said. “I got to see the inspections and all the technical stuff that goes on.”

As honorary crew chief, Villanueva got to listen to the inside workings of the pit crews. One practice that made an impression on him: Each car in the race is measured and its size can’t vary from the others by more than a quarter-inch.

During practice, “the crew chiefs would watch the cars go round and round,” he explained. “The racers would listen to chiefs when they say, ‘Hey, come in and slow down’ or ‘Make this turn this way.’.”

“On their computers, they keep track of every run that they do,” he continued. “I got to see the technicians do the math on how fast they needed to go.”

Villanueva admits that before being at Atlanta Motor Speedway that his knowledge of auto racing was limited.

“My outlook on it is different now,” Villanueva said. “The crew goes back and looks at their notes and figure out why he didn’t go faster or why the car wasn’t able to handle curves.”

“You never think this goes on,” he continued. “My perspective was that they just go qualify and see what position they race.”

His favorite part of his NASCAR experience was that everyone explained how the race works and treated his wife and four children great.